InfoTech majors shut B’lore offices after Cauvery dispute violence

A day after outbreak of violence over the issue of sharing Cauvery River water with the south eastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, IT giants TCS, Infosys and Wipro as also e-commerce majors Flipkart and Amazon have decided to keep their offices shut in the city on Tuesday. Many employees have been asked to work from home as the companies invoked business continuity plans to ensure there is no disruption to mission critical projects.

India’s top three IT firms - Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro -- which have a significant presence in the city declared a holiday on Tuesday. The three IT services companies alone have over 70,000 people working at their campuses in the country’s IT capital. In an emailed statement, Wipro said: “Wipro has declared a holiday for employees in Karnataka on Tuesday, September 13. In lieu of this holiday, Saturday, September 17 will be a working day for offices of Wipro in the state”.

It added that business continuity plans have been invoked to avoid disruption to mission critical projects. An Amazon India spokesperson said delivery of products has been temporarily impacted, owing to the current situation. “We will resume all deliveries at the earliest. We have advised our employees to work from home today and continue to monitor developments,” she added. Flipkart Head (Supply Chain Operations) Neeraj Aggarwal said the company has stalled operations to ensure safety of its delivery staff.

“We are trying to mitigate all customer impact by keeping them informed about expected delays,” he added. One person was killed and another injured in police firing in Karnataka on Monday as the Cauvery water sharing row with Tamil Nadu turned violent, escalating tensions between the two states.

Bengaluru city police, bolstered by central forces, is keeping a tight vigil, particularly in areas inhabited by Tamils and other “sensitive” localities. Violence targeting Tamil Nadu buses and lorries and other vehicles brought the city on the edge and the entire city is under prohibitory orders till September 14.